A proposed bill to prevent states from restricting adoption by LGBT people may go nowhere in the U.S. Congress because of a lack of Republican support in the House of Representatives, but it’s a significant and symbolic step.

Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., introduced the bill and should be commended for this action in the wake of backward steps in states such as Arizona and Virginia. A similar bill is expected in the U.S. Senate.

As with the same-sex marriage issue, efforts must be made on both federal and individual state levels to ensure adoption rights by LGBT people.

As Jennifer Chrisler, executive director of the Family Equality Council, said in the Huff Post story: “The simple truth is that today’s modern American family is made up of all types of configurations. One in four children in this country is currently being raised by a single parent. Two and a half million families are headed by single dads and one a half million kids are being raised by grandparents.”

“We now spend more than $7 billion per year on a flawed foster care system that doesn’t serve all the children who are in it, and permits discrimination against capable, loving potential parents and children.